Love
by Nesloga
Summary: Live- and with a gasp he did.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Ace or One Piece._

_AN: This is what happens when I watch the newest Alice in Wonderland three times in two days and only get three hours of sleep on average. My mind twirls about and spits out stories that make less then sense. Oh well, it was an amusing ride all the less. This is the edited version of this story, thanks to the reviews I got I do believe I was able to fix my mistakes- I really should get a Beta- and I switched some words and so on so forth to hopefully make the story flow easier.  
_

_Word Count: 1,224_

_Summary: Live- and with a gasp he did._

**Love**_  
_

There are stories out there, tales older then time yet younger then life. Riddles and rhymes that tantalize and entice. But one special riddle that not even the oldest and wisest of scholars can even begin to comprehend yet the youngest of babes can grasp is that to live is to love and to love is to live; a turnabout of words, a repetition of the best sort, the sort that holds power, the sort that makes things change.

So, when a man who has not yet loved but yet has lived all his life dies with those words rebounding in his mind he wakes. He wakes from death with a gasp and a shaken mind. Not sure of who, where, or what, only knowing the simple truth that to live is to love and to love is to live.

He travels around the world relearning all that was lost in the murky depths of the dark sleep and as he learns he remembers. Bits and pieces return, he knows that the wet thing that makes him weak is the sea and that the sea makes him weak and is wet. He realizes that his father is not his father but his father is his father. And he comprehends that while his father –who is not his father- and his father –that is- are gone, so are his mother who held and let go and his brother who flew and fell.

But his brother is not gone; his brother who has two faces and loves so he lives, because to live is to love and to love is to live. So he travels more and finds numerous other bits and pieces, he puts them together like a puzzle, a broken toy that will never mend completely but will seem perfect. So he gains and as he gains he grows, he shrinks, and he explodes. He remembers his father –who is not his father- was king and his father –that is- was his rival, that his mother that held and let go was panicked and that his brother who flew and fell is royal. But, but so is his brother, his brother -that has two faces and loves so lives- is royal. By his father he is and by his own making he will be.

Soon, soon he will have all the bits and pieces; soon he will have the broken puzzle complete.

The final piece, the final bit. He's a card! As is his father –who is not his father- and father –that is-. So are his mother that held and let go and his brother who flew and fell; his brother –that has two faces and loves so lives- is a card.

He finally knows that he is the Ace of Spades, His father –that is not his father- is king and his father- that is- is another. They're both kings! Opposites in fact! Black and red, black and white. Spade and Diamond! And, and his mother is queen! Queen of Spades while his brother is Jack of Clubs. His brother –that has two faces and loves so lives- is the King of Hearts! Because his brother loves: and to live is to love and to love is to live.

Everything clicks and snaps into place with the last bits and pieces, and finally the puzzle is complete. It is finished and imperfectly perfect. Because the cards aren't just cards, they're names as well. Names of those who held importance and were not loved and yet were. His father –who is not his father-, the King of Spades was known as Gol D. Roger. His father –who is-, the King of Diamonds was Whitebeard. His mother that held and let go, Queen of Spades was Portgas D. Rouge. His brother who flew and fell, the Jack of Clubs was Sabo the son of a noble. His brother –that has two faces and loves so lives-, the King of Hearts is Monkey D. Luffy. And he, himself, the Ace of Spades is Portgas D. Ace. Offspring of Roger. Child of Rouge. Son of Whitebeard. Sibling of Sabo. Brother of Luffy. All these are titles, titles and labels that fit snuggly. In fact, they fit so snuggly that a breeze of warmth hits him, it lights and ignites a fire within; a fire that rages and burns half remembered memories. It melts the edges of the bits and pieces until they meld together perfectly; finally properly fixed, perfect once more. The toy is working, the puzzle complete, and he is whole.

The cards that are, were, people disappear. All but one. The King of Hearts stands erect, never backing down to the winds that blow or the storms that tear. It faces all that comes, shielding all that it protects. Giving itself up to harm, if only to leave those it deems important flawless. Because the King of Hearts is the _Suicide King_, stabbing itself through the head, killing base instincts that warn to _flee, run, get away_ if only to give those precious few a chance to survive. And then the final memory hits, the final revelation that shakes his only renewed world, that he is the Ace. The King's trump card and that he has strayed too far, serving another King and leaving the old open and defenseless. Because even though the King has protectors they can never be or do what the Ace can. Because the Ace makes miracles happen, the Ace opens new ways, and the Ace is there for when things go _horribly, terribly, nightmarishly _wrong.

The revelation shakes and almost breaks his new world; he had left his King, his precious one behind and alone. And the King must have suffered so, it must have been lost and tormented, wondering _why,why,why _because he is the Ace and the Ace swore allegiance to the King. But, he left, forcing the King –that has two faces and loves so lives- to stand too soon. The foundation is shaky, and the walls ready to collapse. The King is bowing to the might of the Clubs. Or, at least he once was. Because while the Ace was away the King gathered others. A Jack with swords, a Ten with arms, a Nine that caters, a Eight that creates, a Seven of bones, a Six that lies, a Five who predicts, and a Four that heals. The Ace can only wonder who or what will take up the positions of Three, Two, and maybe one day _Ace_. For he knows that one day, soon or far away he will step down and climb up.

He will take up the mantle of Queen of Hearts, for no other can hold this place, no other can reach the King so deep. No other can stand next to the King and _know_ what, who, how as quickly as he. That he has an obligation, a responsibility to the King; for they had made a promise, a contract so many years ago. To live without regrets. And to complete this pact, to fulfill this vow they will become King and Queen. The royals of Heart. That's when he realizes that he _has_ loved; because, to live is to love and to love is to live.

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_Thank you for reading, please review and tell me your thoughts. Was this good? Bad? Terrible? I accept all reviews and critics, every little bit helps and all that._


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